Hanging with Chewbacca

The force was with me at the Cantina Bar on Thursday evening; or was it the Wookie Juice cocktail that flowed quick and easy? There was a buzz, that’s for sure, a nervy edge courtesy of numerous dodgy-looking characters lurking in alcoves and dark corners.

It was launch night for Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester (Trafford Park), and they had created a fabulous replica of the dingy drinking hole that featured in Episode IV of the Star Wars franchise.

For once, I was there on business and not simply to sup beers and chat nonsense with anyone prepared to listen. I’ve been penning a few words for EventCam360 of late, a hi-tech company that offers a cool 3Dphoto experience. They will have a couple of rigs in operation when the For The Love Of The Force fans’ convention kicks off on Friday 4th December.

The hype is certainly building. Excited fans mingled with media types at Bowlers, many in full costume, shaking hands, locking light sabres and grabbing selfies with characters that played their parts to the max.

Chewbacca strode purposefully around the joint, every inch the main man, a good foot taller than most in the low-light bar. I didn’t turn the lens on myself, but I did snap a close-up of Simon from EventCam360. He’s the slightly less hairy one on the left, in case you were wondering…